


Finding Warmth

by Vakaara



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Planet Vegeta survives AU, gratuitous cuddling, hurt comfort, unnamed characters die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14499240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vakaara/pseuds/Vakaara
Summary: A mission goes wrong, stranding Kakarot and Vegeta on a frozen planet.





	Finding Warmth

Vegeta watched the provisioning of his ship with folded arms, feeling his ceremonial cape rustle occasionally in the dry breeze. The solid ice surface of planet Xoibec, where they headed for battle, would be a sharp contrast to the dry heat of his home planet. Xoibec was a terrain utterly inhospitable to Saiyans, in fact to all forms of mammalian life. Its temperature was so low that liquid water did not exist anywhere on the planet, and even the sentient natives were an evolved form of inexplicably hardy bacteria-plant hybrid rather than anything with blood. Waging battle in the below freezing temperatures would quickly sap the Saiyan strike team’s strength and ki even if they managed to avoid the enemies’ blows. It would be imperative to decide the battle quickly.

“Strategizing already, Prince Vegeta?” The light voice was pleasant to the ear, but Vegeta turned to scowl at the man who dared assumed such familiarity with his Prince. Of course it was Kakarot, with his easy poise that exuded strength and sharpness despite his tousled hair and the disrespectful smile quirking his mouth.

“You’ve been on enough missions to know that strategy doesn’t start only after we land, Kakarot,” Vegeta tried to inject disdain and superiority into his tone. Kakarot shouldn’t ask such foolish questions, and certainly not in a way that implied he was simply trying to hold a conversation with Vegeta. At least that was the impression Vegeta took from Kakarot’s continued grin, and the slight creases of mirth appearing near his eyes. Was he taunting Vegeta deliberately? Vegeta had far more respect for Kakarot’s strength and skill then he cared to admit, particularly after witnessing the man’s spectacular ability to adapt mid-battle during that brutal week on Isllesto. And Kakarot was beyond easy on the eyes, especially with his armor currently worn over a bare torso to expose the powerful curve of his biceps as he folded his arms in a mimicry of Vegeta’s own posture. Not that Vegeta would ever admit either the respect or attraction to the man directly. 

“I’ve been on enough missions to know that not every commander thinks that far,” Kakarot countered. His expression darkened slightly before he shrugged and stretched unselfconsciously, arms crossing above his head. He directed another toothy grin at Vegeta. “But I guess I’ve been on enough missions with you to know that you’re the prepared type.” 

“It’s my responsibility,” Vegeta said stiffly. He turned to examine the progress of his ship’s loading, which removed the temptation to imagine what it would be like to have Kakarot’s powerful arms wrapped around him. With rather less clothing involved. After Vegeta held his silence for several beats, Kakarot lifted his right arm in a loose salute to his Prince before turning to board the command ship alongside the rest of Vegeta’s strike team.

* * *

Pale eyes wide and pinprick pupil quickly dulling, the Xoibecan warrior went limp and fell from the sky to crash into the icy surface of the planet. Vegeta’s teeth bared in a feral grin as he watched the blue-green form drop, smoking slightly from the ki-blasted hole piercing its torso at the congruence of its four arms. Even in Xoibec’s icy conditions the Saiyan warriors were making short work of the enemy. Just as Vegeta had hoped, they would be able to finish their mission quickly and leave before the cold depleted the Saiyans’ strength. 

Scanning the battlefield from his airborne position, Vegeta was pleased to note that there were only a handful of Xoibecans left, engaged in battle with Vegeta’s troops. The blue-green enemies fought with the desperation of the nearly conquered, and even as Vegeta watched one of them managed to get past a Saiyan’s guard and send the unfortunate warrior plummeting into a nearby glacier. Vegeta let out a burst of laughter when he realized it had been the usually confident Kakarot thrown aside so humiliatingly. He’d taunt Kakarot for that later, if an opportunity presented itself.

Perhaps the blow that sent Kakarot flying had been a last gasp of resistance. Moments later the Xoibecans turned tail in unison and fled. That wouldn’t do. The Saiyans’ orders were to eliminate all warriors, leaving only non-combatants on the planet. Easier for the follow-up PTO team to sweep and sell. 

“Don’t let a single one of the cowardly bastards leave here breathing!” The planet’s cold wind sliced at Vegeta like a knife, even through his battle suit and ki, as he sped his flight in pursuit of the fleeing Xoibecans. His strike team roared in agreement, swooping with deadly intent after the escapants. 

The surface of Xoibec glittered blindingly as the Saiyans pursued their prey, the frozen surface refracting light and throwing it into sensitive Saiyan eyes. Vegeta grimaced and squinted, sure he wasn’t the only one doing so, and was relieved when the Xoibecans dipped into a crevasse. It would be darker down there, and the Xoibecans would be cornered. They had them. It would be a quick slaughter. 

Deeper in the crevasse it was dark and cool, a huge gaping wound in the planet’s surface with no visible floor. Perhaps the Xoibecans were counting on the dark to obscure them, but they hadn’t counted on superior Saiyan eyesight. It was impossible for them to lose their pursuers so easily. 

A deafening boom sent an electric jolt of fear through Vegeta, some base instinct flaring at the sheer volume and depth of the sound.

That was the only warning he had before mountains of ice closed on him and the rest of the strike team, the walls of the crevasse collapsing down onto them. Through the mix of primal fear and more rational horror at the weight of ice bearing down on him, Vegeta realized he’d made a grave tactical error. A piece of ice the size of a flagship connected with his head, accelerated by Xoibec’s gravity, and his last thought was that he’d been utterly, fatally wrong.

The Xoibecans hadn’t been trying to lose them at all. It had been a trap, and he’d lead his strike team right into it.

* * *

“Fuck!”

Ice shards scraped painfully at Kakarot’s hands as he clawed himself out of the damn glacier. How had he been so fucking careless? Letting one of the Xoibecans land a hit on him like that. He just hoped Vegeta hadn’t seen. 

Punching the last ice chunks out of the way, Kakarot burst back into the frigid air of Xoibec. His scouter showed that the battle had moved north a ways from where he’d last seen, and he poured ki into his flight. If he could rejoin them fast enough, he might be able to land some redeeming hits before they wrapped up here. 

He’d be glad to get off this frigid rock. The frozen air here tried to sear his lungs as he flew, and he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to block some of the glare from the ice. Even though his scouter showed that he was practically on top of the fight, he couldn’t see anyone else. Where were they?

A terrifying boom split the air, echoing and rumbling deep in Kakarot’s bones. His frozen breath caught in his throat. 

“Oh, Soli, no,” but the Saiyan goddess of battle was no help here, Kakarot’s whispered plea meaningless. Kakarot wanted to scream in anguish but his breath was seizing in his throat. The crevasse blow him was filling with ice, mountains of it shaken loose. This was the source of that terrifying boom. In seconds the collapse was over, but the ice continued to rumble, creak, and settle. Utterly burying Kakarot’s Saiyan comrades and the last of the Xoibecan combatants. 

He couldn’t get to them. Kakarot felt sharpness at the corners of his eyes, realized he’d started to tear up only to have the evidence of his weakness freeze to his face. Shaking off his paralysis he flew desperately toward the location where his scouter had last detected ki. The avalanche had happened so quickly. In mere seconds, so many lives snuffed out, while Kakarot wasted a precious moment frozen by the shock of the sound. 

Wind whipped at Kakarot’s hair as he scrambled at his scouter, trying to get it to pick up life signs. There had to be survivors. Saiyans were hard to kill, they wouldn’t all have been killed by the ice. Even if the weight of it was the force of a thousand heave punches, the shards easily sharp enough to pierce muscle and bone. On a planet already taxing for a Saiyan just to exist on, with temperatures low enough to freeze blood within veins. Kakarot gritted his teeth and kept scanning with his scouter. The prince at least wouldn’t die from just ice, would he? His power far exceeded that of the other Saiyans, and Kakarot had seen firsthand how much damage Vegeta could shake off in battle. Cold clenched at Kakarot’s insides, and it might not have been just the planet’s temperature this time. 

He raised his right palm, bracing his right forearm with his left hand to steady his aim. Whatever the hell he was aiming at. The first burst of ki was low powered but wide, scattering ice fragments in a glittering cloud around Kakarot as he hovered low above the newly-raised icy floor of the crevasse. His scouter still couldn’t confirm any life signs. Cursing, he continued blasting ki to kick up layers of ice. If he could get closer to his comrades, maybe the scouter would register survivors. 

Finally, when he’d excavated a depth three times his own height, his scouter blipped and registered a life sign. Breathing shakily in through his nose, Kakarot scrambled toward it with more purpose. He’d hoped that more signs would be picked up as he got closer, but the scouter stubbornly continued to register only the one. 

Kakarot slowed his pace, weakened his ki blasts further. Now that he was so close to the life sign, he needed to be careful not to injure his teammate further in his rescue attempt. The ice now above him was still shifting, and Kakarot kept his left arm raised in readiness to fend off falling shards if needed. 

His next ki blast raised a shower of ice shards that settled to reveal something that didn’t glint, something that wasn’t frozen. Kakarot caught his breath as he recognized white and gold patterned armor. Saiyan. One of the elites, since the lower classes wore darker tones. Forcing his hands to steady, Kakarot used his arms and ki blasts to clear the area the person he’d found. Vegeta. The Prince was almost as pale as the white of his armor, and wasn’t moving. But the scouter confirmed that it was Vegeta’s ki it had registered. The source of the Prince’s paleness was clear; an ice shard had sliced deep into his right thigh, probably enough to scrape bone. Perhaps the cold had helped him here, the frozen blood visible around the wound preventing further loss. Still, Kakarot needed to get his Prince warmed up and stabilized, or that flicker of ki wouldn’t last much longer.

* * *

Kakarot blinked as he felt his eyes start to water, felt the grittiness of frozen water against his eyelids. The glare from the planet’s surface stung. Blips from Kakarot’s scouter guided him closer to the command ship the strike team had arrived in, but he hoped to hell he’d be able to spot it once he drew level. Prince Vegeta was utterly still in Kakarot’s grip, and Kakarot was torn between gripping his cargo more closely and fear that he’d further worsen the damage if he did. He tried not to think about the bodies of his comrades left behind, pushing aside the emptiness and rage to try to focus on saving the only other Saiyan on the planet left breathing.

At first Kakarot chalked the dark shifting spiral up to eye damage from the continued assault of light. But as he drew closer to the scouter-pointed destination, he recognized the smell of smoke. Something in Kakarot’s stomach twisted nauseatingly. 

The ship was in ruins. Its bulbous hull gaped wide open, metal curling from the heat of the ki blast that some damned Xoibecan had managed to break free to deliver. It couldn’t possibly be space worthy. They were fucking stranded. No allies, and no medical aid. Vegeta seemed to grow heavier in Kakarot’s arms as Kakarot forced his breath to even, forced himself to move forward.

* * *

The white of the bandages was far too close to the current color of Vegeta’s normally warm skin. Kakarot swallowed hard as he fastened the bandage, prayed his shoddy attempt at first aid was enough to keep Vegeta breathing. He’d wanted to get Vegeta’s pants off ever since they battled together on Isllesto, but this wasn’t the scenario he’d pictured. 

Thank Soli the command ship had primitive medical supplies at all. He hoped that the coagulate pills he’d shoved down Vegeta’s throat would work as advertised. The damage to the ship had killed the power supply, leaving them with shelter from the wind and little more. There sure as hell wasn’t any heat. The only heat source Kakarot could think of at the moment was his own body, and he didn’t think Vegeta wanted to be all that up close and personal with him. Then again, he was certain that the Prince wasn’t in any position to complain about it at present. Soli willing, Vegeta would regain consciousness enough to spit some of his usual scathing remarks after he’d thawed out a bit. The alternative was unthinkable.

* * *

Vegeta couldn’t understand how he felt so weak yet so safe at the same time. His body felt limp, with all the strength of a feather. Something was clearly wrong. There was a strange dulled throbbing in his right leg, a feeling of wrongness. Yet a familiar scent surrounded him. And warmth. So much warmth, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this warm. What was that scent, deliciously tempting yet soothing at the same time? He shifted his weight, wondering about rolling over, then froze as coils tightened around his chest and his waist.

No, not coils. Arms. A tail. He realized this as the source of warmth behind him grunted softly and tucked a warm nose against his neck. This scent.

“Kakarot?!” Vegeta had meant to snarl, but it came out embarrassingly close to a croak. 

“Vegeta!” Kakarot’s bulk shifted behind him, the arm coming up from Vegeta’s chest to gently cup his chin, tilt his head. Wide eyes gazed at the momentarily stunned prince. “Thank Soli you’re alright!”

“What- What are you _doing_ , Kakarot?” Now that Vegeta was more awake, he was mortified. Was Kakarot embracing him? Was that Kakarot’s _tail_ around Vegeta’s waist? How dare the third class do something so familiar, so _possessive_. “You’re too damn close!”

Kakarot’s breath puffed against Vegeta’s neck, far too distracting. “I know, I know, I’m being too familiar with my Prince. I’m sorry, Vegeta, but I was afraid you’d die of hypothermia, the ship’s damaged and can’t do a damn thing, and I—“ 

Hypothermia. Xoibec. Vegeta stopped listening to Kakarot. Xoibec. He’d led his strike team into a death trap. 

“The others?” Vegeta interrupted Kakarot. The silence that greeted Vegeta’s question confirmed the worst. “They’re dead, aren’t they.”

“Yeah.” Vegeta felt Kakarot’s throat move as he swallowed before answering. Soli, but they were pressed close together. 

“This is _really_ the only way you could think of to keep me from hypothermia?” Vegeta’s voice grated against his raw throat, again dampening the tone of his irritation. If he were honest, it was difficult to be mad at Kakarot when the result was so pleasant. But he was damned sure going to try. The oddly safe feeling he got from having Kakarot’s arms wrapped around his torso was in no way going to cause Vegeta to forget the difference in their stations. A quick fuck would be one thing, but a third class cuddling the Prince? Unheard of, and he must ensure that it remained so. 

“Why the hell are we naked? Or close enough to.” Vegeta’s numbed brain had finally pinned down why the situation felt so incredibly intimate. And nice. No, he wouldn’t think that, not of Kakarot. “Weren’t you being a little enthusiastic in your duties as a heater, Kakarot?”

A weak chuckle. “Could be, Vegeta. You’re hard to resist, after all.” Was Kakarot mocking him? Flirting with him? Where had that come from? “But in defense of my, ah, enthusiasm, I know that our uniforms are designed to keep in heat, so I thought I could share mine a bit better if we didn’t have the uniforms between us.”

That was a practical explanation given voice with inexplicably tantalizing words. Sharing his heat? Surely there was a more clinical way to put that if this were really a concern about hypothermia. 

“How insightful of you, Kakarot,” Vegeta managed. He hoped his tone was disdainful rather than appreciative. Given his current feelings, he feared it was tending toward the latter. “Did you manage to come up with a plan to get us off this planet during all your thinking?” 

“Yeah,” Kakarot’s quick answer and measured tone startled Vegeta. “I got enough juice out of the emergency communications systems to send a distress call back home, and it was acknowledged. They should be here in about a day.”

Home. A day. Vegeta swallowed hard, found himself gripping the arm Kakarot had wrapped around Vegeta’s chest. “So we’ll be off this damn ice cube soon, then.”

“Yeah,” Kakarot’s nose was grazing Vegeta’s neck distractingly again, “we’ll be able to get out of here soon, Prince Vegeta.” 

Vegeta forced himself to still despite the warm tickling of Kakarot’s nose and hair, both of which caused far more fluttering in his stomach than was justifiable. “Good. The sooner the better.”

* * *

Kakarot tried not to sigh with relief, but he wasn’t sure he was managing it. Vegeta seemed none the worse for wear, despite his injury. Something inside Kakarot finally unclenched. It had been the right decision to bring Vegeta back to the Prince’s own quarters, and warm him up using Kakarot’s body heat under a pile of all the blankets he could find on the ship. The Prince was conscious again, and that was all the success Kakarot needed.

Although now that Vegeta was actually conscious, he was even more distracting. Kakarot could feel the ripple of Vegeta’s muscles against his stomach whenever Vegeta shifted position, which was frequently. The Prince seemed restless. Trying to keep him just a little more still, Kakarot tightened his grip slightly.

“What the hell are you doing?” Vegeta’s voice was still raspy from the cold and his lingering weakness, but it more than conveyed his irritation. 

“You’re moving too much,” Kakarot tried to sound stern, “you’re still injured, you should lie still.”

“Why the hell do you care?” Vegeta’s tail flicked against Kakarot’s abdomen, Kakarot’s thigh. A sign of irritation, or at least unease. Kakarot tried to ignore how pleasant the light brush of fur felt. 

“Of course I care,” it was a struggle to keep his voice level, “you’re my Prince, it’s my duty to ensure your safety.” It was more than that. Kakarot had a distinctly personal interest in his future ruler’s safety. But now was not the time to share that. 

“Duty,” Vegeta’s voice was dull, and Kakarot could feel Vegeta tensing. This was a shift, somehow, and it made Kakarot uneasy. Why was Vegeta’s voice like that?

Kakarot waited for Vegeta to continue, but he’d fallen silent. It was a relief that his body was now warm in Kakarot’s arms, but the sudden stillness was too sharp a departure from Vegeta’s normal attitude. 

Vegeta’s jaw was set, too. Kakarot could see the muscles clenched in the light glancing through the room’s small port window. The silence lingered, stretching Kakarot’s unease. 

“I had a duty too, you know,” Kakarot felt Vegeta shiver slightly as he forced the soft words out. 

Kakarot waited, expecting more, but Vegeta’s jaw remained tightly shut. The muscles against Vegeta’s jaw stood out, but Kakarot couldn’t see the prince’s expression. Vegeta likely didn’t want him to. Still, the lingering silence bothered Kakarot. He raised himself up carefully to bring the side of Vegeta’s face into view, trying not to jostle Vegeta as he did so.

He wasn’t prepared for the miserable expression on Vegeta’s face. It wasn’t one he’d seen before, and he wondered if anyone had. This was something private. Guiltily, Kakarot eased himself back down, hoping Vegeta hadn’t noticed his shift in position. 

The air in the room was utterly still, and well below freezing temperature outside their little blanket cocoon. Although they were both safe for the moment, their situation would remain precarious until aid reached them. Since Vegeta was injured, Kakarot needed to remain alert to any approaching danger. But he found his focus drawn more to Vegeta than his surroundings, worrying still over Vegeta’s silence. It was unusual for Vegeta to have missed Kakarot’s movement earlier. Seemed like he’d retreated far inside his own head. 

Hoping he wasn’t overstepping, Kakarot slowly laced his fingers through Vegeta’s. He wasn’t prepared for the softness of Vegeta’s palm, but he probably should have expected that since the prince always wore gloves. Vegeta tensed, gasping in a breath and stiffening his shoulders. The silence stretched for an excruciating heartbeat.

“What the _absolute fucking hell_ do you think you are _doing_!?” Vegeta’s volume was restricted, but he made up for it with sheer insult. 

Yeah, he’d probably overstepped. Kakarot swallowed hard, tightened his grip on Vegeta’s hand without thinking. “You should focus on the present.” Another stunned heartbeat of silence, then Kakarot decided he might as well keep going since he couldn’t get in any deeper. “‘Cause even you can’t change the past.”

Vegeta made a garbled noise, and tightened his fingers around Kakarot’s. “Fuck off, Kakarot.”

“Nope, not gonna.” Kakarot bit his lip, then went with his instincts and rubbed his thumb slowly against the side of Vegeta’s hand. Vegeta shivered against him, and gasped softly. 

Shit. That was hot. They were stranded on a fucking ice planet after Vegeta had nearly bled out, they were both dealing with a mess of emotion. This would be the absolute worst time for Kakarot to get an erection. He needed for Vegeta not to make any more noises like that. 

But he’d forgotten where his tail was, and tails mostly moved without conscious direction. And his tail had curled lightly against Vegeta’s bare thigh, sliding across Vegeta’s groin. Vegeta spat swear words Kakarot didn’t expect from royalty, but his tone was wrecked. Kakarot could feel a pressure growing against his tail where it curled across Vegeta’s cock. At least there were two of them with a situation. Because Kakarot sure as hell had that erection now. 

“How dare you,” Vegeta said, with absolutely no venom in his tone at all. Kakarot let out a burst of laughter, and Vegeta growled and twisted to face him. The motion brought Vegeta’s injured thigh against Kakarot’s leg, and Vegeta hissed in pain before stilling. 

“Easy, Vegeta,” Kakarot was smiling and he looked his furious prince in the face. “You’re still injured. Plenty of time for us to have fun once you’re healed, yeah?”

“You have some nerve,” Vegeta informed him, drawing his eyebrows together. It wasn’t much of a glare by Vegeta’s standards. “What makes you think I’d be interested if you weren’t the only other warm-blooded body on the planet?”

“Okay,” Kakarot brought their noses together and was delighted when Vegeta’s eyes widened. He’d forgotten his attempt at glaring. “I guess I’ll just have to seduce you again, once we’re back.”

“ _Seduce?_ ” Vegeta laughed, but it was a lighter laugh than Kakarot could recall hearing from him before. “Is that really what you’d call a seduction, Kakarot? You’ve barely touched me.”

“Yeah, but look what great results it got.” Kakarot’s grin split open, exposing teeth. He felt wild laughter bubbling up, and Vegeta flushed a surprisingly bright shade of red. “I’m excited just imagining what reaction I’d get from you if I were really tryin’.”

“Are you—“ it was stunning that Vegeta had enough blood left in him to turn that red, “—are you suggesting that I’m an easy lay?” 

Vegeta’s tone was indignant and possibly a little hurt. Kakarot shifted to bite gently at Vegeta’s nose, drawing a protesting noise from Vegeta. He tried not to think of that noise as a squawk, and drew back enough to meet Vegeta’s eyes. “Nope. I’m saying you like me.”

“I—“ Vegeta’s mouth opened then closed again. “I will admit to no such thing.”

“Okay,” Kakarot leaned forward to bring their lips together, more gentle than he would have been if Vegeta hadn’t been injured. Vegeta pressed against him hungrily, opening his mouth for Kakarot, then drawing back to scrape his teeth lightly against Kakarot’s lower lip. Kakarot chased him, drawing him back in for a deeper kiss. Vegeta was marvelously pliant, hot against Kakarot’s skin. 

Kakarot slid his hands down Vegeta’s back, feeling the tracery of tiny scars that marked his many battles. Vegeta’s right hand clenched firmly in Kakarot’s hair, guiding their kiss, and damn that control was sexy. Made Kakarot feel more than a little possessive. His left hand found its way down Vegeta’s back to squeeze his ass, and Kakarot’s tail tightened posessively around Vegeta’s right thigh.

“Fuck,” that wasn’t an exclamation of pleasure. Vegeta was wincing, drawing back, “move your damn tail, Kakarot.”

“Shit.” That had been Vegeta’s injured leg. “Sorry, Vegeta. I guess I should have listened to my own advice about waiting.”

“I told you that you were being optimistic with that,” Vegeta was out of breath and not at all convincing.

“Yeah,” Kakarot eased himself against Vegeta’s back again, then buried his smile in Vegeta’s shoulder, “but you didn’t say you didn’t like me. You just said you wouldn’t admit to it.” Vegeta sputtered in protest. “You know, Vegeta. I’m pretty sure that’s the same thing as you saying that you actually do like me, at least a little.”

“I,” Vegeta paused. “I will not dignify that with an answer.”

Kakarot chuckled, and laced his fingers into Vegeta’s again. Vegeta smelled delicious, and he was wonderfully alive in Kakarot’s arms. Seemed that his attitude had recovered along with his health. 

Vegeta shifted in Kakarot’s grip, not as content as Kakarot to lie still and await their rescue ship. Kakarot splayed his right hand against Vegeta’s chest, wondering if that could still him. He wasn’t expecting Vegeta to chuckle, a warm low sound utterly different from icy battle laughs. 

“What’s funny?” 

“You,” Vegeta’s voice was low and warm, too. “I wasn’t expecting there to be anything hot on this planet.”

Caught up in the pleasantness of the sounds Vegeta produced when he was in a good mood, it took Kakarot a minute. “Did you just call me hot?” Vegeta was silent, but Kakarot thought he could see an upward curve to Vegeta’s lips. “Did you just make a joke that didn’t involve murder and mayhem?”

“I will admit to no such thing,” Vegeta definitely sounded amused, despite the distinct lack of blood or suffering.

Holy shit. Vegeta had a sense of humor that wasn’t reliant on violence? Kakarot tried to remember whether he’d seen any evidence of that before. Or heard from anyone else. He was drawing a blank. But the fact that Vegeta wouldn’t admit to it must mean it was another part of himself that he kept hidden away. One of the pieces he didn’t think fit the Prince of Saiyans.

Kakarot had learned about an awful lot of those pieces today. That was one hell of a privilege. Maybe Vegeta liked him even more than Kakarot had been hoping. Hell, could Vegeta even feel respect toward him? That wasn’t something easily earned. Kakarot doubted he’d managed it yet, but he was damned sure going to keep trying. 

A beep from Kakarot’s scouter disturbed the easy silence they’d fallen in to. He’d put it too far away to reach easily, which in hindsight was a bad decision. Reluctantly releasing Vegeta so he could roll over, Kakarot grabbed the scouter before quickly rolling back. Vegeta instantly pressed his back into Kakarot’s chest, and accepted Kakarot’s arms back around him with no complaints whatsoever. 

“18 more hours til our rescue gets here, if they’re on time.” Kakarot read the countdown on his scouter’s screen, set earlier to alert him every 6 hours. “And then we can get off this damn snowball.”

“Mmm.” Vegeta settled slightly closer to Kakarot. “At least due to your careful thinking, Kakarot, we won’t be in danger of freezing before they get here.”

Vegeta was downright full of compliments now. Kakarot smiled and hummed agreement, pressing his check against Vegeta’s hair and hooking his chin over Vegeta’s shoulder. He watched Vegeta try and fail to suppress a yawn as the day’s battles caught up with him again, and allowed his eyes to drift shut to follow Vegeta into sleep. Another 18 hours of this wouldn’t be too bad at all.


End file.
